All posts for the month January, 2015

That’s right, you read that title correctly. Today I’m daring you all to find a song to which you would do a striptease. See if you can plan out an entire routine to the song that makes you feel sexy. I’m not suggesting you actually go out and find an amateur strip contest unless you’re really feeling that confident about it. You don’t even have to do it for your significant other if you don’t want. But try to find that empowerment that is hidden in taking your clothes off. Write a scene that features a striptease, fan dance, or something of that nature.

When we use the term breathtaking we’re usually describing something beautiful or positive. But more often than not the things that literally leave you breathless are dangerous or harmful. A punch to the gut or a piece of food stuck in your throat, these things are literally breathtaking. Write a poem about something that has left you breathless. If you’ve ever had something beautiful take your breath away than you can still make this a positive poem. But for all my pessimists out there we’ve got plenty of material for you to write something dark too.

I was reading an older book from my collection again this week called Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. It’s about a female werewolf that struggles with her desire to be normal and her instincts as a wolf. This struggle is best shown in her romance. She has to choose between a normal human boy and a werewolf like herself that the pack has chosen for her. *Spoilers* She picks the wolf. But as you’re reading it seem more and more like she wants to choose the human. The choice at the end makes sense because instinct won out. But it really felt like a twist, not like in those lifetime movies where you know she’s gonna end up with the guy that she starts off *air quotes* hating. Write a scene in which a character choses a romance that feels unexpected.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if more things in life came with free samples? I’m not just talking about having a tasting day at a farmer’s market. Like what if you’re not sure if you’ll like the job that you’re about to take? How about you get a free day at the office to see if it has a good atmosphere for you? Write a poem about something you’d like to try for free or about enjoying a free sample of something. Maybe you’ll write the best poem about the little sample cups of FoYo that’s ever been written.

I’ve been rewatching Pushing Daisies, a series cancelled before it’s time in my opinion. And as I’m rewatching it, I’m realizing how complicated love is for all of the characters. But not in the usual way of other television shows. Most shows have their characters break up and get back together to show struggle in the relationships. This is a major complaint of mine because I end up not believing that they will stay together after the show is over. But in Pushing Daisies the leading romantic characters literally can’t touch. (It’s a whole magic touch of life thing, actually a much bigger part of the show than I’m making it seem.) Still even though they never resolve this issue before the show was cancelled, I have no problem believing that despite not having the physical relationship they desire these two characters will stay together for ever. Anyway enough of my ranting, try to write a scene where the obstacles of love for your character don’t make them break up but instead seek better ways to stay together.

You know that moment when you’re waiting to hear back from someone, about a job or a college, possibly something a little smaller like just a letter from a friend or even smaller scale just waiting for a text. The anticipation builds as the iMessage ellipses tell you that they are typing. Then the text comes and they wrote one word and you’re pissed. Today write about that feeling of anticipation. Can you write an entire poem about anticipation without mention of what specifically you are waiting for? Or does the satisfaction of that knowledge need to be there for the poem to make sense?

I was scrolling through We The Urban’s site when I saw this. “Meet the Robotic Spider Dress. Techno Couture from Anouk Wipprecht, a dress with insect-like robotic limbs which react to the proximity of others.” This is probably one of the scariest and coolest things I’ve seen in the fashion world. This dress totally looks like it’s gonna help her take someone out. Write a scene that features an idea like this, a fashion item that has a mechanical aspect. What does the mechanical bit do for your fashionista character?

There is a phrase that goes something like “silence speaks volumes.” Thinking about that phrase it usually goes hand in hand with a facial expression or an awkward silence in a conversation. How could you show silence in a poem. Would it be a matter of manipulating blank space? Will you write a poem that leads up to a single line and then cut that last line leaving the reader to search the silence for that last line. Take a few moments to think of your own way to express silence.

Artists Moreno De Turco and Mirco Pagano spent more than 200 hours lining up the CDs to recreate the portraits of world-famous musicians Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Hendrix, Michael Jackson, James Brown, and Freddie Mercury. That is dedication to a project right there. It’s pretty amazing how they got so much detail out of just positioning CDs. Write a story that figures your character feeling emotionally connected to one of these iconic singers or feature a quite from their music in a story.

With everything new there is a certain amount of excitement and a certain amount of fear. We always hope that the excitement will outweigh the fear but is that always the case? Write a poem about the fear of something new in your life? What are you really afraid of? What will this new person or thing change in your life? Or is the fear that nothing will change?